Amestris General Hospital
by Carlson
Summary: Amestris General Hospital is largest hospital in the country and home to some of the biggest cases in medicine. FMA Hospital AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Amestris General Hospital, 7:02 am**

Ed strolls down the halls of the hospital, grumbling and sipping his coffee. He'd just gotten up from a nap and it was time for rounds. He was in his second year of residency at Amestris General, the youngest doctor in the history of the hospital. It was really pretty impressive, having graduated medical school at the age of 20. He'd been told he was a prodigy, which he probably was, but really he'd worked hard to get where he was.

His leg was sore from sleeping awkwardly and he tried to stretch it out as he walked toward his department- Diagnostics. He'd interned in several other departments briefly, like a quick stint in pediatrics (which he'd enjoyed working with kids, but he ended up getting mistaken as a patient far too many times for him to genuinely consider sticking with it). His most annoying appointment had been in the burn ward under Dr. Mustang. He hadn't spent particularly long there, but Dr. Mustang had been such a thorn in his side, and their departments were close enough that they crossed paths frequently. It was always a bother when Mustang would stroll over and mention some kind of strange infection one of his patients was dealing with and practically order Ed to take a look at it. He understood that technically Mustang was his superior, being the head of the Burn Ward, but he didn't have to be such a dick about it.

He finally made it to Diagnostics and checked in with the nurse there. He and Maria Ross had had a bit of a rough start when Ed had first started at the hospital. She didn't know he was actually a doctor at first, and when she did, she'd been way too stiff about being respectful to him until she'd caught him sneaking around the hospital at odd hours. She'd slapped him and ever since then, they were friends.

"Morning, Dr. Elric," Maria greeted when he approached the nurses station. "Everything has remained normal since your last check in, but you should stop in to see Mr. Reedel. The antibiotics don't seem to be working for him."

"Morning, Maria," Ed grumbled back, taking the patient files and continuing down the corridor to his patients' rooms.

As he checked in on his patients- directing Heinkel and Darius to change Mr. Reedel's antibiotics from one form to another- he couldn't help but dread the next couple of hours. His group of interns was due to arrive at 9. They were overall alright, but there was one insufferable annoyance who was always sneaking off to get snacks during his shift. Besides, even though Alphonse was interning at this hospital, he'd decided to dedicate his time to pediatrics for the time being, and they didn't see much of each other.

/

 **Amestris General Hospital, 8:33 am**

When Roy arrived at the hospital that morning, he was greeted with a one Dr. Riza Hawkeye standing in front of his office, a stern look on her face.

"Well, Dr. Hawkeye, aren't you a sight for sore eyes this morning?" Roy said as he unlocked the door.

"You didn't finish your paperwork from your last patient's release, sir," Hawkeye reprimanded. She thrust a file at him. "I had to hear about it from Jessica. She said you promised her you would have it done by today."

Roy rubbed at the back of his head. "Oh, yes, of course. I'll take care of it right away." He grabbed the file and tossed it on his desk. "But first, I need to check in on how our patients are doing."

Roy strutted down the hospital corridors with a dignified march. Prior to working at the hospital, he'd been an army medic on the front lines. It was there that he'd first started treating burns- it seemed like every other day someone had gotten hit with an IED. After finishing his tour, he'd decided to step away from the military and pursue medicine, which led him to ultimately heading the burn ward at Amestris General.

Of course, that's not where his ambitions ended. He knew that there was more that his hospital could be doing for the people of Amestris, and he'd rumors of some of the unsavory dealings the hospital had been involved in, and Roy aimed to uncover them and reform this hospital. To do that, though, he'd have to make it to the top and become president of the hospital. He was lucky to have several people in the hospital on his side; namely, Hawkeye and his friend Dr. Hughes in pediatrics.

Hawkeye fell into step beside him. She was his unspoken second-in-command in the ward. When Roy wasn't around, she was the undisputed leader (although, many would argue that she was the true leader, even when Roy was working). She had the steadiest hands in the hospital, and the surgery department had tried to recruit her while she'd been interning, but she ultimately ended up following Roy into the burn ward. She could now wrap burns with the gentlest and most precise care.

Jessica was working the nurses station, and Roy sauntered over easily.

"Good morning, Jessica, how are you today?" Roy asked smarmily.

Jessica shot him an exasperated look. "You didn't finish your paperwork, Dr. Mustang."

"I know, I know," Roy said. "Dr. Hawkeye already got after me. I just want to check up on the patients and then I'll get started right away."

Jessica gave him a look that said 'I'll believe it when I see it.'

He shot her a smile and then walked away.

/

 **Amestris General, 10:17 am**

Alphonse loved pediatrics. His brother had been mad at him when he'd decided to start his internship there, rather than in Diagnostics, but he can't say he regrets the decision. Al loved working with kids, even if seeing them so sick made him upset. He wanted to do his best to make sure that they received the best care and got better quickly. He also loved his superior, Dr. Hughes. Even though Hughes talked a little too much about his wife and daughter, he really was a great doctor who could seemingly solve the most difficult case in a flash. He'd recently learned that Dr. Hughes had previously worked in Diagnostics before switching over to pediatrics after his daughter had been born a few years previously.

Dr. Hughes, Alphonse, and his fellow interns had been making rounds when Dr. Hughes was paged by the ER.

"Al, come with me," Hughes directed. Al ran after Hughes in a jog.

When they arrived, Dr. Hughes met up with Dr. Armstrong. She was standing just outside of a curtained-off area of the ER, her arms crossed with a sour expression (although, if Al was being honest, it was rare to see her without a sour expression).

"Dr. Hughes," she hissed when they arrived.

"Dr. Armstrong," he greeted cheerily. "Why did you call me down here?"

"I have a child patient. She's going to require a rather lengthy stay, from what I can understand. I can't make heads or tails of what's wrong with her. Take a look for yourself." She turned to open the curtain and entered the area. Dr. Hughes and Al followed her.

Inside, a small girl lay in bed, asleep. A disheleved looking man sat beside her. He was balding and needed a shave, his round glasses slipping down his nose. He looked over at the doctors when they entered.

"This is Nina Tucker. She was brought in after she reported not feeling well at school and passed out. I can't seem to detect any usual infections or illnesses, and she has some unusual patches of hair, so I'm transferring her to your care," Dr. Armstrong explained.

Hughes approached Nina's bed. He regarded the man at her bedside. "Is this your daughter?" he asked him.

"Yes," the man answered, his voice quiet.

"Don't worry, we're going to take good care of her." Then, he began to examine her, looking at the strange patches along her arms. He made a few notes, Al writing them down for him. After a few moments, he stood up straight and crossed his arms.

"Frankly, Dr. Armstrong, this seems like a more appropriate case for Diagnostics." Dr. Hughes said.

"Tch," said Dr. Armstrong. Her dislike of Ed was no secret at the hospital, finding him annoying and a smartass. "I assumed that might be the case. I paged him as well, but he's not yet made it in."

Just a few second later, Edward entered the curtained area. "Dr. Armstrong, you paged?" he asked as he entered. His eyes fell on his brother. "Oh, hey, Alphonse!"

"We have an unusual case here, Dr. Elric," Dr. Hughes said. He repeated what Dr. Armstrong had told him.

"Do you have any idea what this might be?" Dr. Hughes asked.

Ed thought for a moment, wracking his brain for what could be causing her symptoms. "I'm not sure yet. Let's move her to Diagnostics and I'll get working right away running tests. I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete yet. We can work this one jointly, Dr. Hughes."

"Right," Dr. Hughes agreed. He turned to Nina's father. "Ok, Mr. Tucker, we're going to have Nina transferred to the Diagnostics ward. She'll be looked after by Dr. Elric here. He's the best diagnostician we have in Amestris, so she's in good care." Mr. Tucker seemed apprehensive at Ed's appearance, but just nodded.

There was something familiar about Mr. Tucker to Dr. Hughes, but he couldn't quite place him. He shook it off, dismissing it as just one of those faces.

"Alright, Al, let's head back to pediatrics. Dr. Elric, let us know if you need any help," Dr. Hughes said.

"Of course," Ed confirmed. "I'll be heading back to Diagnostics and start working out this case immediately. Come by when you have time, Al."

"Okay," said Al.

With that, the three of them departed the ER. It seemed there was an interesting case coming to Amestris General.

/

 _I hope you all enjoyed! I'm going to update soon so please let me know what you think! Make sure to review/fave/follow! Thanks guys!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Amestris General, 11:36am**

Nina had just been officially transferred to Diagnostics, and Ed was determined to crack her case as quickly as possible. He was currently in her room, where she was still asleep, standing in front of her father, who'd identified himself as Shou Tucker.

"So, Mr. Tucker, do you know when she first developed these patches of hair?" Ed asked, referring to the strange areas of her skin that had started to grow unusual hair. They were along her arms and legs. Ed already knew that he wanted to run tests on the skin and hair, but he wanted to get some answers from her father first.

Mr. Tucker didn't look well himself; Ed had half a mind to admit him himself. Mr. Tucker looked up, revealing the deep under eye circles behind his glasses. "Uh, no, I don't," Mr. Tucker answers.

This guy really didn't know that his own daughter had developed a skin condition? Ed didn't like him. "She didn't say anything to you?"

"Uh, no, she didn't." Mr. Tucker rubbed at his face, disrupting his glasses.

"I see. I'd like to run some tests to see if we can identify what it is." Mr. Tucker looked up wildly, but calmed down in an instant.

"Alright, sure," he said. He seemed hesitant.

"Great," Ed said. He turned to Darius and Heinkel, who were observing the conversation. "Darius, take a sample of the skin and hair on her arms and legs and send it to the lab for testing." Darius nodded and left to retrieve the necessary materials.

"Now, Mr. Tucker. Has Nina been feeling sick lately? Lethargic or running a fever or anything?" he asked.

"She did have a little cold last week, but she seemed well enough to go to school this morning," Mr. Tucker answered.

There was something off about this guy's answers, Ed could tell, but he couldn't put his finger on what exactly. "Can you tell me what her symptoms were?"

"She had a fever and a cough. I kept her home from school for a couple of days."

"Did she see a doctor?"

"No, it didn't seem that serious," Mr. Tucker said.

Ed realized this conversation wasn't going anywhere. "Alright, well, we'll be keeping a close monitor on her. Please inform us immediately if you have anything to share."

With that, Ed left, beckoning Heinkel to come with him. He really didn't like where this case was going. He wanted to get to the bottom of this.

/

 **Amestris General, 12:03pm**

After getting another earful from Jessica, Mustang finally submitted his report. Practically as soon as he did that, he was confronted with a rather annoying intern of his. The kid had been placed in his department at the beginning of the month, a student from the medical school affiliated with the hospital. While he'd liked his interns in the past, taking the opportunity to assert some power over someone, this one had been a thorn in his side this whole time. Not to mention the fact that he didn't seem particularly interested in burns—or the fact that the department office always seemed to be devoid of any food seemingly seconds after being restocked. Nothing was safe in that fridge. Mustang had taken to storing his lunch in Hughes's office instead.

"Yo, Dr. Mustang!" Ling Yao called, waving him over. Mustang braced himself as he walked over. "What's on the docket for today?"

The problem with Ling was that while he was certinaly passionate about medicine, he was a little too upbeat for Mustang's department, where most of the patients were in medically induced comas to assist in their healing process—which was probably a good thing, given that Ling didn't seem to have any kind of filter when it came to dealing with patients at the bedside.

However, Mustang did have a plan for relieving himself of Ling. He'd actually put in to have Ling transferred a few days ago, and it just happened to coincide with the news Hughes had given him earlier that day. Ed had just taken on a new case—one that seemed it was shaping up to be a real headscratcher. It was perfect timing for him to drop Ling off at Diagnostics and make it seem natural, despite the fact that he'd originally planned to just dump Ling off anywhere at the approval of his transfer.

"Hey, Ling, are you interested in Diagnostics at all?" Mustang asks casually.

Ling thought for a minute. "Not particularly. That sounds like a lot of work, doesn't it?"

 _This asshole,_ Mustang thought. "Every department is a lot of work, but I think you could learn a lot from Dr. Elric."

Ling continued to seem disinterested, but after a beat he perked up. "Wait, did you say Dr. Elric?"

Mustang was confused. "Uh, yes, I did."

"I'll do it." The truth was, Ling knew about Dr. Elric and his quick rise to being a full doctor at Amestris General. If anyone could give him the secret to getting successful quickly, it would be Dr. Elric.

"Oh, uh, alright," Mustang said. He spotted Hawkeye from across the room. She was with the other intern in the Burn Ward, Lan Fan. He walked over to them, with Ling following.

"Excuse me, Dr. Hawkeye. I'm heading down to Diagnostics with Ling; he'll be transferring today. Would you mind making sure the paperwork is in order?" Mustang says. Of course, Hawkeye had been in on the plan from the beginning, having put through the original request. The only thing left to do was have both himself and Elric sign the form.

Hawkeye gave him a flat look. "Of course, Dr. Mustang. I'll send it over for Dr. Elric to sign this afternoon."

"Ling is transferring?" Lan Fan asked. "I request to be transferred as well."

Lan Fan was a great intern. She did everything with precision and never caused any sort of ruckus, unlike her fellow intern. If anything, she helped keep Ling out of trouble. In truth, Mustang didn't want to lose her. Besides, he knew that Ed would be resistant to picking up one intern, let alone two.

"I'm afraid we can't accommodate that right now, Lan Fan, but we'll consider it for the future," Mustang told her.

"Don't worry, Lan Fan, I'll just be on a different floor of the hospital!" Ling said cheerily.

"Please don't get into any trouble," Lan Fan said.

With that, Mustang and Ling made their way to Diagnostics.

/

 **Amestris General, 12:11pm**

Ed was hunched over his desk, wracking his brain for what exactly was ailing Nina. Darius was taking care of her tests, so he was left with Heinkel, who was spouting off seemingly any disease he knew.

"Maybe lupus?" Heinkel offered.

Ed hummed. "Actually, that could be a possibility." Ed wrote it down. _Think, dammit._

Just then, the door to his office burst open.

"Hello, Dr. Elric," greeted Mustang, waving jovially at him, that intern of his trailing behind.

"What do you want, Dr. Mustang? Can't you see I'm busy?" Ed gestured to the flurry of papers all over his desk.

"I actually have something to help out with that, I think," Mustang said, stepping aside so Ling could approach the desk. "This is Ling Yao, and as of today, he's your new intern!" Mustang was smiling, but Ed was glaring.

"Hi there!" Ling sang, extending his hand. Ed just scowled at it.

"I'm pretty sure I didn't request an intern," Ed hissed.

"Well Ling here has quite the passion for medical mysteries, and I heard you were tackling a rather difficult case today, so I thought I'd pass him along," Mustang explained.

"Oh, yes, that's true. I'm sure I'll be quite the asset for you," Ling added. Ed just continued to glare.

"No, thanks, you're just trying to get him out of your hair, aren't you, Mustang?"

" _Dr._ Mustang," the older doctor corrected. "But no, of course not. You just seemed like you could use an extra hand."

"Yeah, well, I don't," Ed said, returning his attention to the papers on his desk. When Mustang and Ling didn't vacate his office after a moment, he looked up. "You can leave now."

"Hmm… I think I'll take Alphonse on as my next intern…" Mustang mused to himself, looking at Ed through the corner of his eye.

"What! No way! Al's moving to Diagnostics for his next rotation!" Ed protested, standing up.

"I think he'd be great in the Burn Ward. I'm sure the president will agree," Mustang said. Ed frowned. Mustang was annoyingly well-respected in the hospital and held a lot of clout with the higher-ups. He'd have an easy time making sure that Al was never transferred into Ed's department.

"But," Mustang continued. "I think he might work really well with Ling here in Diagnostics, don't you think, Dr. Elric?"

Ed's eyes narrowed. "Fine, I'll take him." Mustang smirked.

"Wonderful. Dr. Hawkeye will have the paperwork to you this afternoon." With that, Mustang strolled out of the office, leaving Ling behind.

"Alright, so where do we begin?" Ling asked. Ed groaned.

/

 **Amestris General, 2:47pm**

Dr. Hughes was in his office. He couldn't stop thinking about Nina and her father. He knew he found him familiar, but he really couldn't put it together. He'd visited Mustang shortly after he'd met Nina. Mustang had told him that the name Shou Tucker was familiar as well, but he couldn't place him either.

"Dr. Hughes?" called Alphonse. Hughes snapped out of his thoughts to see the blond med student standing in his office.

"What is it, Alphonse?" Hughes asked.

"I was just wondering," Alphonse started, his voice small, "if you had any ideas about Nina."

Hughes sucked in a deep breath. "I'm not sure yet. I've been focusing on the patients we have here in our department, but I've been trying to figure out what she could have. Don't worry, though, your brother is a brilliant doctor. He'll figure something out in no time."

Suddenly, Ed came storming into Hughes's office, a deep scowl on his face. He stopped just short of Hughes's desk, noticing Al. "Oh, good, Al, you're in here already," Ed muttered.

"What's wrong, Brother?" Alphonse didn't look too concerned; he knew his brother had a wicked temper.

"How soon can Alphonse transfer to Diagnostics?" Ed asked Hughes, ignoring Alphonse.

Hughes balked. "Why are you asking so suddenly?"

"Dr. Asshole just dumped his intern on me and I think I might kill him," Ed answered, gritting his teeth. "Which goes against the whole 'do no harm' oath I took."

Hughes knew immediately who Edward was talking about. Mustang had been complaining about Ling's lackadaisical nature ever since he'd been placed in the Burn Ward, and he had been in on Mustang's plan to get him transferred to Ed's department, even if he didn't necessarily agree with his methods. Still, Hughes had to suppress his amusement.

"He can't be that bad, Ed," Dr. Hughes said.

Ed glared at him. "You think so? All afternoon all he's done is ask me about how to get through clinical training as quickly and easily as possible. I can barely focus on the Tucker case with him around."

"So how would having me transfer help exactly?" Alphonse asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You'd stop me from killing him, first of all," Ed said. "But you're rational. You'll actually have some worthwhile ideas for me to investigate."

"Well, sorry, Ed, but I'm not willing to let Al go just yet. He's the best intern I've had," Hughes said. "But don't worry too much. I'm sure you'll be able to handle him just fine eventually." Truthfully, he couldn't really see the two of them working out that well, but he could hope.

Ed scoffed. "Fine." After a moment, the crease in his brow smoothed out. "Well, if you have any breakthroughs about Nina, let me know." He paused for a minute. "Hey, Dr. Hughes… did you talk to Mr. Tucker at all this morning?"

"Yes, I did," Hughes answered.

"Did you think there was something off about him, too?" Ed asked.

Hughes nodded. "Yeah, I'm not sure what it is, but I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."

"I see," Ed said. "Alright, well, I'll get back to it. I'll see you later, Alphonse, Dr. Hughes." Ed waved before he left.

"Goodbye, Brother," Al said.

/

 **Amestris General, 2:52pm**

"What the hell!?" Ed yelled when he returned to his office. Ling was in there, rummaging through the mini fridge in Ed's office, chewing on the snacks Ed kept in there.

"Oh, hi there," Ling said with an apple in his teeth.

"What are you doing?!" Ed yelled.

"Having a snack?" Ling answered after swallowing. Ed rushed over to the fridge—it was completely empty, wrappers laying all around his new intern.

In his own office, Mustang started laughing.

/

 _Thanks for reading chapter two! I really appreciate the response this story has gotten so far! Thank you all for your favorites, follows, and especially your really kind reviews! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! (And don't worry, Ling is one of my favorite characters, so just you wait!)_


	3. Chapter 3

**The Next Day**

 **Amestris General, 8:04am**

When Ed strolled into his office after grabbing a coffee from the cafeteria, Darius was waiting for him. Heinkel and Ling were there too, Heinkel looking disapprovingly at Ling as he scarfed down a pastry.

"I have the results from the lab about the hair on Nina's arms," Darius told him.

"And?" Ed asked impatiently.

Darius hesitated a moment. "Well, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the hair itself," he began. "but it doesn't seem like it's a match for her. I compared it to a sample of the hair off of her head, and they don't match. The DNA structure is totally different."

Ed set down his coffee, his eyes narrowing.

"That's weird," Ling said through a bite of his pastry. Ed glared at him.

"Did you have the hair sent for sequencing?" Ed asked Darius.

"Yes, I did. We should have it back tomorrow," Darius said.

"Ok. What else?" Ed asked.

"Well, Nina's awake now," Heinkel said.

"What?! Why didn't you say that first?" Ed exclaimed, grabbing his coffee cup and moving to leave the office.

"It seemed a bit important that the hair on her body didn't match her DNA, but…" Darius muttered under his breath. He and Heinkel shared a withering look.

Ed rushed from his office to Nina's room. Nurse Maria Ross was in there, checking her vitals. Nina looked so small in the hospital bed, wrapped up in the blanket and attached to various monitors. Her father was still there, looking like he hadn't slept at all the whole night. He was sitting in the chair along the wall, watching Maria work with his daughter.

"Ok, we're all done now," Maria said, ruffling Nina's hair. "You did a great job." She smiled tenderly at the little girl. She turned and saw Ed and his team standing there. "Oh, hello, Dr. Elric."

Edward stepped over to Nina's bed. "Hi, there, Nina. My name is Dr. Elric. I'm the one who'll be taking care of you. How are you feeling?"

Nina seemed cheerful, but tired. She contemplated Ed's question for a few moments. "I'm ok!" She chirped. "Daddy's here with me, so I know I'll be just fine!" Ed's eyes slid from the little girl over to Mr. Tucker, who looked more like he belonged in the hospital than his daughter.

"Well, that's good. I'm going to take a look at your arm, okay?" Ed said.

"Ok!" Nina put her hand into Ed's, and he examined the patch on her arm. It made sense, what Darius had told him. The hair here seemed coarser and lighter than Nina's natural hair, even though it had only just started sprouting. As he was looking, Nina's eyes seemed to lose focus.

"Nina, are you okay?" Ed asked, setting her arm down.

"'M sleepy…" she mumbled.

"Okay, get some rest," Ed said, and she rested her head on her pillow, falling asleep almost instantly.

Ed shoved his hands in his pockets, and turned to Mr. Tucker.

"Listen, Mr. Tucker, we got the results back from the tests we ran on the hair on Nina's arm. It's not conclusive yet, but we do know that the hair there does not match her DNA structure. We've sent it out to be sequenced so we might be able to identify what it is." Ed told Nina's father.

"Oh," Mr. Tucker breathed. "I see."

"Now, do you know if Nina had ever been a twin?" Ed asked.

Mr. Tucker seemed surprised by the question. "What do you mean?"

"Well, sometimes, if one twin is weaker than the other, the stronger one will absorb the weaker one early in development. Later in the life, that person can start to manifest some of the traits from their twin. This is called parasitic twinning," Ed explained. "We will have to run some other tests to see if she has any other attributes of a parasitic twin to be sure."

"Alright," Mr. Tucker said. "I'm not sure if she was ever a twin. That never came up at the ultrasounds."

"With the way she's developed so far, it's likely that it probably occurred early in development, possibly before an ultrasound could pick it up," Edward said. "But I would confirm with Nina's mother to be sure."

Mr. Tucker froze for a moment. "Oh, um, well, Nina's mother I'm afraid is unfortunately deceased. She passed away a few years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," Edward said. He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, but could you tell me what her cause of death was?"

Mr. Tucker hesitated. "It was a medical mystery. I'm not sure exactly what caused it."

Edward contemplated this for a few moments. "I see. There's a possibility your wife's passing and Nina's condition could be connected. I'm going to see if I can dig up the files and maybe figure something out. I will check in with you once I've found something. I'm going to have Darius and Heinkel take Nina for a CT scan later, just to see if they can identify any other markers of a parasitic twin."

Mr. Tucker's eyes went wide for a moment before drooping again. "Okay," he said.

Ed walked out of Nina's room, and stopped by the nurses' station. "Maria, please page me right away if Nina wakes up."

Maria nodded. "Of course."

Ed continued back to his office, trailed by his team. Once there, he turned to face his team. "Heinkel, order a CT scan. You and Darius need to analyze Nina's body and see if you can identify any other vestigial organs. I'm going to check the medical records and see what I can dig up about Mr. Tucker's wife."

"What about me?" Ling asked.

Ed thought for a second. "You can go with Darius and Heinkel," he said flippantly, waving him off before leaving the office.

"Hey! Wait—" Darius and Heinkel protested as Ed rushed from the office.

/

 **Amestris General, 8:17am**

Sheska jumped as the door to the medical records room was pulled in, dragging her out of the medical text she was reading. Edward walked in.

"O-oh! Hello, Dr. Elric!" Sheska stammered, trying to look like she'd actually been working instead of reading.

"Good morning, Sheska," Ed said. He noticed her nervousness. "Relax, I don't mind if you read. Doesn't bother me any." He paused. "Actually, maybe you could help me with something."

"Um, what is it?"

"I'm looking for a file on someone who was here a few years ago. The last name is Tucker. Her condition was never discovered before she died." Ed explained.

"Oh! Do you mean Ella Tucker?" Sheska asked. "She came in after collapsing at work. She died four days later but the doctors couldn't figure out what had been wrong with her."

"That sounds about right," Ed said. "Can you find me the file?"

"Of course!" Sheska said, starting to search through the cabinets. It took her a minute, but she produced a small file and handed it to Ed.

"Thanks, Sheska. This is a big help," Ed said, smiling at her.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all!" She assured him.

Ed sat down at the table and started to read over the file.

/

 **Amestris General, 9:33am**

Hughes was stepping into the elevator to head down to the cafeteria after finishing his latest set of rounds when he nearly ran over Edward.

"Dr. Hughes!" Ed exclaimed.

"Hi, there, Edward, what's up?" Hughes asked.

"I was actually just on my way to talk to you," Ed said.

"What about?"

"Do you remember a patient by the name of Ella Tucker?" Ed asked. "She was here a few years ago, but she died before being diagnosed."

Hughes eyes snapped open wide in realization. "That's where I know him from!" Hughes nearly shouted, disturbing the other people in the elevator.

"I saw that you'd worked on the case before moving into pediatrics permanently," Ed said. "What do you remember of the case? The file was… lacking, to say the least."

Hughes thought for a few moments. The elevator reached the bottom, and he and Ed got off and they started walking toward the cafeteria. "Well, it was a confusing case, for sure. She came into the ER after collapsing at work. Her husband wasn't with her at the time. It was like her body just stopped functioning. She came to a day later, but she didn't seem lucid. We tried running tests, but the results were… confusing to say the least. Nothing seemed to connect."

"Can you explain further? I read in the file that she also had strange hair patches as well."

"Yes, in fact, her symptoms were very similar to Nina's…" Hughes said. "We ran all sorts of tests, bloodwork, CT scans, MRIs, Echocardiograms, but we didn't find anything conclusive."

They'd reached the cafeteria by now. Hughes grabbed a tray and Ed followed him.

"Did you ever run DNA analysis?" Ed asked. Hughes stopped.

"No," he said. "we didn't. Did you find something?"

"The hair on Nina's arms came back as not matching her DNA," Ed revealed.

Hughes kept moving. "I see."

"Nina woke up this morning, too," Ed said. "She seemed to be acting normally, but she wasn't awake long."

The two were quiet for the next few moments as Hughes finished filling his tray.

"I thought it might be parasitic twin syndrome, but if this same thing happened to her mother, I'm not so sure anymore," Ed said. "I'm having the hair sequenced. I have a weird feeling about it."

"That's wise," Hughes said. "Let me know what you find out."

"Will do," Ed said before leaving.

/

 **Amestris General, 9:42am**

Edward busted into the CT room. "Shut it down," he ordered.

Darius, Heinkel, and Ling whipped around from where they were analyzing the scans. "What?" they exclaimed in unison.

"It's not parasitic twin syndrome," he said.

"How do you know?" Heinkel asked.

"Nina's mother was admitted a few years ago with similar symptoms. She ended up passing away after a few days without a conclusive diagnosis."

The room was quiet after that. Darius began to shut down the scan.

/

 **Amestris General, 10:26am**

Mustang was checking in with Jessica after treating a patient when Hughes grabbed him.

"Whoa, Hughes, what's going on?" Mustang sputtered as Hughes dragged him into his office. Hawkeye followed them with a blank expression, closing the door behind them.

"Shou Tucker," Hughes said.

Mustang sighed. "I'm sorry, Hughes, but I'm still not sure—"

"Ella Tucker," Hughes said, cutting him off. "Medical mystery from three years ago."

Recognition flashed across Mustang's face. "Oh."

"Her and Nina's symptoms match up pretty similarly," Hughes said.

"I see."

"But I'm sure I've heard Shou Tucker's name somewhere else before," Hughe said, his voice unsure.

Mustang thought hard for a few moments, rubbing at his chin. He looked over to Hawkeye, searching her eyes like she might have an answer. He stared at her for a moment before snapping his finger. "College!" Mustang nearly shouted.

Hughes startled. "College…?"

"Shou Tucker was in our genetics lecture," Mustang explained. Hughes's eyes went wide with recognition.

"That's right!" He exclaimed.

Mustang slid into his chair at his desk. He began typing at his computer. "He went on to get his doctorate in genetic engineering…" He turned his monitor so Hughes and Hawkeye could see it.

"He was in residency at a lab at the national university until…" Mustang paused. "He took a sabbatical a few years ago to work on a personal project, and then again this year…"

"You don't think…" Hawkeye said.

"There's no proof, but it seems suspicious," Hughes said. "Ed said he sent the samples of Nina's hair to get sequenced. I'll have him continue searching in that area to see what he can find."

"Right," Mustang said. "Things are pretty quiet over here, so I'll do a little more digging into what I can find out about Tucker in the meantime."

"Got it," Hughes said before leaving Mustang's office.

/

 **Amestris General, 10:32am**

Alphonse entered Ed's office. Ed, Darius, Heinkel, and Ling were huddled around the whiteboard in the meeting room next door. "Brother!" Al called.

Ed turned to see his brother standing in the doorway. "What is it, Alphonse?" Al beckoned him over.

"Dr. Hughes told me to tell you that you should continue to investigate Nina's genetics. He said he has a lead on Mr. Tucker and he'd get back to you soon," Al said, his voice hushed.

"Got it," Ed said. With that, Al left. Ed returned to his team, erasing everything they had written on the whiteboard, replacing it with the words "Genetic Disorders" at the top.

"Alright, we were already heading down this route, but it's pretty clear that Nina has some sort of genetic disorder, likely hereditary. Her mother exhibited very similar symptoms when she was here a few years ago, but she never had her DNA tested. We should send a sample of Nina's blood to lab as well to get fully sequenced," Ed said. "Let's head back to talk to Mr. Tucker."

"Right," said the group.

They all headed down the hall to Nina's room. Mr. Tucker was there, looking nervously at Nina as she slept. When Edward entered, Mr. Tucker startled.

"Ah, hello, Dr. Elric," he said.

"Mr. Tucker," Ed began. "I'd like to do some more genetic testing on Nina. I believe she might have some kind of hereditary genetic abnormality. I took a look into your wife's file, and she and Nina seem as though they might have the same condition."

"I see. So what is it that you'd like to do?" Mr. Tucker asked.

"I'd like to take a sample of Nina's blood to have it analyzed for any genetic abnormalities." Ed said.

Mr. Tucker took a deep breath. "Is that absolutely necessary?"

This caught Ed by surprise. "Yes, I believe so. I'm certain that she has a genetic disorder, but I can't say for sure what it is or how to treat it without having her DNA analyzed fully. It's the only way to treat her. Otherwise we'd just be trying things at random."

Mr. Tucker didn't say anything for a while. "How long will the sequencing take?" This question also surprised Ed. He seemed to be asking a lot of questions for someone whose daughter was lying unconscious in the hospital.

"A day or two, most likely. We should be getting the results back on the sample we took yesterday tomorrow," Edward said.

"I," Mr. Tucker started, then stopped. "Okay, you can do it."

"Great," Ed said. He paged Maria, who came in with the release form for the test. Mr. Tucker signed it.

"Get to work, Darius," Ed said. Once they sent this off to the lab, it would just a waiting game, and hopefully, time wouldn't run out.

/

 _Thanks so much for reading! I'm having a lot of fun with this story, so I can't wait to share the other arcs I have planned with you guys! If you have any ideas for which other characters you'd like to see or which roles you want to see them in, please let me know! Also let me know what your favorite hospital drama is! Mine's House, if you couldn't tell lol!_


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